Talking instead of listening

Correction: A quote from Washington Capitals defenceman Mike Green in the April 21, 2010 post on French Immersion was incorrectly attributed to Sports Illustrated, in fact it originated from csnwashington.com. The Globe regrets the error.

Talk, as everyone knows, is cheap - free in fact.

And in these austere times everyone appreciates value, which might explain why the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens are yapping at each other so much.

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The latest to exercise his chompers is Caps defenceman Mike Green, who apparently told Sports Illustrated that the Habs "don't have very much."

Well, that's an inconvenient truth if there ever was one.

But at the same time, it's just not cricket to do so much jawing in the playoffs. Whatever happened to not giving one's opponent bulletin board fodder?

"They don't seem to be afraid of it," said Josh Gorges, who admitted it's tempting to shoot back because "it's kind of fun in a sense to say things and talk in the media, but it's not our style, it's not the way we handle ourselves."

Well boo-hiss to reasonableness.

It's hard to call it an air war when one side refuses to show up, so good thing the media loves to talk, and talk, and talk - French Immersion included.

As some of you have pointed out, we certainly haven't been blogging very much of late.

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Mea maxima culpa.

Allow us to make up for lost time by bringing you the freshest, latest developments on a real live story that's unfolding at the Bell Centre today.

Would you be surprised to learn that it involves loose talk? Hey, when FI finds a theme, we rag-doll it to the ground and beat it till it stops moving.

Again according to Sports Illustrated, police authorities in Florida allege in an email that the NHL and the Washington Capitals - despite their public pronouncements to the contrary - never did get around to conducting the "thorough investigation" they promised.

In fact, it would seem there wasn't much of an investigation at all by the league or the team, who had both promised to get to the bottom of it.

This was admitted, presumably sheepishly, by the league's security chief in a phone conversation with detectives (the investigator who elicited that tidbit relayed it in an email to his boss, which the magazine got hold of.) The whole affair hinges on a tawdry spot of drug dealing involving a Florida-based bodybuilder and steroid-purveyor who told the Polk County Sheriff's department that he furnished drugs to unnamed Capitals players (and members of the Washington Nationals baseball team).

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Last month, investigators travelled to northern Virginia and arrested chiropractor Douglas Nagel - whose clinic is in the same complex as the Caps' practice facility - and charged him with steroid distribution.

A handful of Caps players have admitted to being treated by Nagel.

"There's nothing there to research, nothing happened," said winger Eric Fehr, who consulted with Nagel. "I don't understand whey that would come out now, it has nothing to do with the series at all."

Fehr also added that Nagel couldn't help him with his balky back, so in addition to being an alleged crook, he's not much help for a lumbar ouchie.

But as ever, it's not about the crime or allegation, it's about the lie.

And if the emails are to be believed, it would certainly appear the NHL and the Caps have been telling porkie-pies (although deputy NHL commissioner Bill Daly told SI that "we stand by the public statements on the subject") Might it make for some good trash-talking fodder on the ice in tonight's crucial, pivotal, do-or-die game four?

In the interests of serving you, dear reader, we asked Gorges that very question.

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